Mayor Edwin M. Lee issued the following statement regarding the Board of Supervisors’ unanimous final approval of the ordinance to place a measure on the November 2011 ballot to restore half of the State’s one-percent reduction in the sales tax rate:

“Despite the best efforts of Governor Brown and Democrats in the Legislature, the State allowed a one percent sales tax rate to expire on July 1st. This left a huge hole in the State budget that has been filled by cuts to funding for local programs and shifting responsibility for State functions onto local governments. We must do our part to protect San Francisco’s programs and services, bring our fiscal house into order, and end the cycle of repeated budget deficits. In these challenging economic times, we are seeking to restore the sales tax locally by one half of one cent to protect public safety programs and preserve the social safety net for our City’s most vulnerable. This is a balanced measure that will save City services while still allowing San Franciscans to experience a decline in the sales tax rate from the rate we’ve been paying for the past two years. I want to thank the Board of Supervisors for their leadership on this matter so that we can move our City forward.”